Sr Laura Makes First Profession

On the 25th of March, the Feast of the Annunciation, Sr Laura Cullen took another step in her journey toward the Lord by making her profession of simple vows. The ceremony took place in the chapter room and was both simple and symbolic. Sr Laura was invited to kneel before the Abbess, Mother Marie, place her two hands between the hands of the Abbess and profess her monastic vows of stability, fidelity to the monastic way of life and obedience in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, for one year. She was then clothed in the black scapular and leather belt of a professed Cistercian nun. Sr Laura subsequently signed her vow schedule which she had previously hand written, and received the Pax of peace from each member of the community. The ceremony concluded with a hymn sung together in joy and gratitude before everyone processed to the Church to celebrate the Eucharist – a true thanksgiving!

The symbolism of the first profession ceremony is both beautiful and rich. The fourth century desert father Evagrius Ponticus reminds us that the monastic scapular  takes the form of a cross, symbolising faith in Christ. The act of prostration before the community symbolises the Novice’s desire to surrender herself entirely to God, while the tender gesture of placing her hands between the hands of the Abbess symbolises the obedience she will endeavour to live by and the pastoral guidance and love she will receive.

Perhaps the most moving part of this ceremony is when the Abbess asks the question: “What do you ask?” Sr Laura’s response, as that of every previous Novice was, “the mercy of God and of the Order.” We pray that she will now continue to discover what it means to live in the awareness of God’s ever-present and merciful love and wish her every blessing on her ongoing monastic journey.